The Desire of Ages Chapters 2 and 3

Chapter 2—The Chosen People

1. Why did the Jews not recognize Him when He arrived? (27)

And yet at His coming they knew Him not. The Beloved of heaven was to them “as a root out of a dry ground;” He had “no form nor comeliness;” and they saw in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” Isaiah 53:2; John 1:11.

2. “Yet  God  had  chosen  Israel.” (27)

3. What did God call and desire the Jews to do? (27)

He had called them to preserve among men the knowledge of His law, and of the symbols and prophecies that pointed to the Saviour. He desired them to be as wells of salvation to the world.

4. What did God promise Israel? (27)

In the call of Abraham the Lord had said, “I will bless thee; … and thou shalt be a blessing: … and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:2, 3.

5. And the Israelites responded how? (28)

But the Israelites fixed their hopes upon worldly greatness.

6. How were God’s purposes completed? (28)

But because of their unfaithfulness, God’s purpose could be wrought out only through continued adversity and humiliation.

7. Name some of the things that occurred to the Jews when they were captives of the Babylonians. (28)

In affliction many renewed their faithfulness to His covenant. While they hung their harps upon the willows, and mourned for the holy temple that was laid waste, the light of truth shone out through them, and a knowledge of God was spread among the nations. The heathen systems of sacrifice were a perversion of the system that God had appointed; and many a sincere observer of heathen rites learned from the Hebrews the meaning of the service divinely ordained, and in faith grasped the promise of a Redeemer.

Many of the exiles suffered persecution. Not a few lost their lives because of their refusal to disregard the Sabbath and to observe the heathen festivals. As idolaters were roused to crush out the truth, the Lord brought His servants face to face with kings and rulers, that they and their people might receive the light. Time after time the greatest monarchs were led to proclaim the supremacy of the God whom their Hebrew captives worshiped.

8. What conviction came to the Jews when they were under oppression and how did they respond? (28-29)

During the centuries that followed, they suffered from the oppression of heathen foes, until the conviction became fixed that their prosperity depended upon their obedience to the law of God.

What are the dangers when obedience is not prompted by love?

But with too many of the people obedience was not prompted by love. The motive was selfish. They rendered outward service to God as the means of attaining to national greatness. They did not become the light of the world, but shut themselves away from the world in order to escape temptation to idolatry. In the instruction given through Moses, God had placed restrictions upon their association with idolaters; but this teaching had been misinterpreted. It was intended to prevent them from conforming to the practices of the heathen. But it was used to build up a wall of separation between Israel and all other nations. The Jews looked upon Jerusalem as their heaven, and they were actually jealous lest the Lord should show mercy to the Gentiles.

9. List three items that were taught after the Jews returned from Babylon. (29)

All over the country, synagogues were erected, where the law was expounded by the priests and scribes. And schools were established, which, together with the arts and sciences, professed to teach the principles of righteousness. But these agencies became corrupted. During the captivity, many of the people had received heathen ideas and customs, and these were brought into their religious service. In many things they conformed to the practices of idolaters.

a. The law

b. Arts

c. Sciences

a. Heathen ideas

b. Heathen customs

c. They conformed to the practices of idolaters

10. “As they  departed   from   God , the Jews in a  great   degree   lost   sight  of the  teaching  of the  ritual   service .” (29)

11. Give the results of the loss of the spiritual aspect of the Jews’ ceremonies. (29)

But the Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to the dead forms. They trusted to the sacrifices and ordinances themselves, instead of resting upon Him to whom they pointed. In order to supply the place of that which they had lost, the priests and rabbis multiplied requirements of their own; and the more rigid they grew, the less of the love of God was manifested. They measured their holiness by the multitude of their ceremonies, while their hearts were filled with pride and hypocrisy.

12. Since “they could find no rest from the accusings of a troubled conscience,” how did Satan take advantage of them? (29)

Thus Satan worked to discourage the people, to lower their conception of the character of God, and to bring the faith of Israel into contempt. He hoped to establish the claim put forth when he rebelled in heaven,—that the requirements of God were unjust, and could not be obeyed.

13. What were the Jews looking for in the Messiah? (30)

They did not seek redemption from sin, but deliverance from the Romans. They looked for the Messiah to come as a conqueror, to break the oppressor’s power, and exalt Israel to universal dominion.

14. What was the condition of the Jewish state at the time of Christ’s birth? (30)

At the time of the birth of Christ the nation was chafing under the rule of her foreign masters, and racked with internal strife.

This state of affairs caused widespread discontent. Popular outbreaks were frequent. Greed and violence, distrust and spiritual apathy, were eating out the very heart of the nation.

15. “They had studied the prophecies, but  without   spiritual   insight .”

16. “They  interpreted   prophecy  in accordance with  their   selfish   desires .” (30)

Chapter 3—“The Fullness of the Time”

1. “The Saviour’s coming was  foretold   in   Eden .” (31)

2. Through what time periods was the promise proclaimed? (31)

Those who first received it died without the sight. From the days of Enoch the promise was repeated through patriarchs and prophets, keeping alive the hope of His appearing, and yet He came not. The prophecy of Daniel revealed the time of His advent, but not all rightly interpreted the message. Century after century passed away; the voices of the prophets ceased.

3. What was a response to Daniel’s prophecy concerning the time of Jesus’ coming? (31)

The prophecy of Daniel revealed the time of His advent, but not all rightly interpreted the message.

4. “God’s  purposes   know   no   haste  and  no   delay .” (32)

5. What did God do to prepare people for the coming of Jesus? (32)

Providence had directed the movements of nations, and the tide of human impulse and influence, until the world was ripe for the coming of the Deliverer. The nations were united under one government. One language was widely spoken, and was everywhere recognized as the language of literature. From all lands the Jews of the dispersion gathered to Jerusalem to the annual feasts. As these returned to the places of their sojourn, they could spread throughout the world the tidings of the Messiah’s coming.

6. Why were “the systems of heathenism” failing to meet the needs of the people? (32)

At this time the systems of heathenism were losing their hold upon the people. Men were weary of pageant and fable. They longed for a religion that could satisfy the heart.

7. Give some of the effects of when the Jews left God. (32-33)

As the Jews had departed from God, faith had grown dim, and hope had well-nigh ceased to illuminate the future. The words of the prophets were uncomprehended. To the masses of the people, death was a dread mystery; beyond was uncertainty and gloom.

8. List three ways God had spoken to mankind. (34)

Through nature, through types and symbols, through patriarchs and prophets, God had spoken to the world.

a. Nature

b. Types and symbols

c. Patriarchs and prophets

9. Why did Christ have to come? (34)

Christ must come to utter words which should be clearly and definitely understood. He, the author of truth, must separate truth from the chaff of man’s utterance, which had made it of no effect. The principles of God’s government and the plan of redemption must be clearly defined. The lessons of the Old Testament must be fully set before men.

10. “Humanity, becoming more  degraded  through  ages  of  transgression , called for the  coming  of the  Redeemer .” (34)

11. When the time for the Redeemer had come, what had Satan been doing? (34-35)

Satan had been working to make the gulf deep and impassable between earth and heaven. By his falsehoods he had emboldened men in sin. It was his purpose to wear out the forbearance of God, and to extinguish His love for man, so that He would abandon the world to satanic jurisdiction.

12. What was Satan seeking to do? (35)

Satan was seeking to shut out from men a knowledge of God, to turn their attention from the temple of God, and to establish his own kingdom.

13. Give the fates of those whom God was using to uplift the people. (35)

It is true that in every generation God had His agencies. Even among the heathen there were men through whom Christ was working to uplift the people from their sin and degradation. But these men were despised and hated. Many of them suffered a violent death.

14. How did Satan get the heathens and Israel to turn from God? (35-36)

The principle that man can save himself by his own works lay at the foundation of every heathen religion; it had now become the principle of the Jewish religion. Satan had implanted this principle. Wherever it is held, men have no barrier against sin.

15. How is salvation’s message communicated to man? (36)

The message of salvation is communicated to men through human agencies.

16. What did the Jews do with the message and what were the results? (36)

But the Jews had sought to make a monopoly of the truth which is eternal life. They had hoarded the living manna, and it had turned to corruption. The religion which they tried to shut up to themselves became an offense. They robbed God of His glory, and defrauded the world by a counterfeit of the gospel. They had refused to surrender themselves to God for the salvation of the world, and they became agents of Satan for its destruction.

17. “The  deception  of  sin  had  reached  its  height .” (36)

18. Give the results when “Satanic agencies were incorporated with men.” (36)

Satanic agencies were incorporated with men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, had become the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the passions, the organs of men, were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the vilest lust. The very stamp of demons was impressed upon the countenances of men. Human faces reflected the expression of the legions of evil with which they were possessed.

19. “Sin had become a  science , and  vice  was  consecrated  as a  part  of  religion .” (37)

20. If the earth’s inhabitants were destroyed, what did Satan plan to do? (37)

Satan was ready to carry out his plan for securing to himself the allegiance of heavenly beings. He had declared that the principles of God’s government make forgiveness impossible. Had the world been destroyed, he would have claimed that his accusations were proved true. He was ready to cast blame upon God, and to spread his rebellion to the worlds above.

21. How often was God’s love exhibited towards us? (37)

Through every age, through every hour, the love of God had been exercised toward the fallen race.

22. What were Jesus’ plans concerning man’s character? (38)

He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.